Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
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Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
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Hello fellow DMs, I’ve got a question with a bit of preamble, and it can be interpreted as a loaded one. I’m planning a new campaign for some college friends, and I’m taking this game as an opportunity to learn from my first campaign with these friends. Specifically, with bettering my combat as a DM. I had a Mercy Monk running roughshod over a lot of fights and I couldn’t figure out a way to stop them without being needlessly cruel with the monsters the gang was fighting so it ended up being on the easy side the whole time.
My question is, how do I have a good counter for every class so I can be prepared and make the fights tough but rewarding for my players?
*IMPORTANT TO NOTE* I’m not wanting to be cruel and unusual to the party, I just want a way to have some more fun on my end, even if I will (ideally) end up losing the fights in the end.
How does that happen? I have a 7th level Mercy Monk and he is the lest effective fighter. I don't understand how he can run roughshod over anything.
High level game (which was intended to be a shorter game starting higher but we didn’t even finish cuz school got in the way) with a Flurry of Hands of Harm. And an Aarakocra. With absurd chance to hit, I think we reached level 13 starting from level 10, and maybe the damage was overblown cuz a lot of fights were big, single-target things.
In short, monk destroyed a lot of single enemies and I want a way to make that feel more earned, among other things for other classes.
Sounds like someone either didn't read the feature closely or pushed a bad interpretation for the power- in either 2014 or 2024 the Flurry doesn't allow for you to turn every single hit into Harm, it just lets them stretch Ki by not paying for both the Flurry and the Harm. Mercy Monks only get a single Martial Arts die + WIS a turn from Hand of Harm, no matter what. It is a once per turn feature, and 11th level takes a moment to explicitly spell out that it doesn't supercede that.
It sounds wat you can do is to not have them do things they are not suppose to. Learn about each character rules/features in the party and what they can and can not due.
"with a Flurry of Hands of Harm. And an Aarakocra."
Thats actually kind of an odd combination. Monk is melee, aarakocra is best suited for kiting around while making rabged attacks.
If they kite while doing melee attacks, every time they leave an enemy's reach, the enemy gets an opportunity attack. If you are letting them fly in, melee attack, and fly away without getting hit by an OA, then thats part of the problem.
Eh- against anything with multiple melee attacks, risking a single attack to move out of their reach such that they can’t close the distance on their turn is a net gain on that front.
Unless theyre playing the Elememtal Evil Player companion version of aarakocra with a fly speed of 50 feet, they should have a fly speed of 30.
If the tactic is swoop down 15 feet, flurry of blows, swoop up 15 feet (taking one OA), id say the enemies moat likely are devoid of ranged attackers? Level 10 and up, casters and other ranged enemies should be common
Monsters of the Multiverse Aarakocra have a fly speed equal to their walking speed, thus scaling with Unarmored Movement. And no, it’s obviously not a flawless defense, but it does objectively reduce the number of melee attacks one will face, and those remain extremely common even in high tiers.
Wasnt disagreeing with you.
A lot of times when there is a "problem" with one player being a bit too powerful, a simple answer is to mix up the types of enemies. Like, most enemy groups operating at high levels have encountered plenty of flying targets, and would have ranged solutions.
Can aarakocra Hover? Make them Prone with a trident or spell, they fall for damage and are prone so advantage on melee attacks.
Since the others haven't really answered the question:
How to Counter a Monk
Monks are almost all limited to melee attacks and they make many of them. Creatures that reflect damage like the Remorhaz or Fire Elemental are an effective counter. Monks also are Dex-based an depend on getting within melee-reach, so difficult and dangerous terrain is another effective counter, consider having tar pits which require a STR save/check to escape from and which the baddies can light on fire. If the monk can fly make it sticky webbing such as from some kind of spider or animated chains that grab at them with a STR save to avoid getting grappled & restrained. Casters with spells such as Entangle, Wall of Thorns, or Transmute Rock.
How to Counter a Rogue
Rogues are all about Sneak Attack, and there is a simple way to stop them from getting it: give them Disadvantage on attacks. This can be achieved with Poison, Fear, or Blindness. Consider giving enemies a Gem of Brilliance (or something similar that is one-use only), or using monsters with an aura of fear. If using humanoid enemies give some of them poisoned weapons. Similar to Monks STR saves are a weakness so tar or mud that will make them Restrained on a failed STR save is another good option.
How to Counter a STR-based Fighter/Barbarian
Fighters and Barbarians are generally STR & CON focused leaving them with weak mental saves, they also will need to get into melee. Flying & ranged enemies are a good counter by preventing these characters from getting within range. Anything that cripples them on a Wisdom/Charisma/Intelligence save like Mindflayers who stun on and INT save, succubi who charm on a CHA save, or a simple Hold Person spell is their weakness as well.
How to Counter a Ranger/Archer
Ranged characters are easy to counter by having enemies ambush them and force the fight into close-quarters, alternatively give the enemies some cover to hide behind.
How to Counter a Bard
Bards are generally physically weak so anything that has a CON save will be very effective against a Bard, spells like Stinking Cloud, or abilities like Stunning Strike are good options. Bards are also very reliant on saving-or-suck spells so enemies with Legendary Resistance or high saving throws are their foil. Lastly, much of Bard abilities are charm/fear based so anything mindless that is immune to such conditions are very difficult for a Bard.
How to Counter a Cleric
Clerics don't have a lot of health and poor saving throws against damage dealing effects, AoE damage abilities such as Dragon Breath are usually effective against them. Positioning can also be important for Clerics since many of their best spells don't have great range and they have limited movement options. So large complex maps with far away / spread out enemies are challenging for Clerics, difficult terrain or enemies with high movement speeds (consider using mounted enemies) are another good choice.
How to Counter a Druid
Many druid spells are limited to the ground / water / terrain, so flying enemies are a challenge for them. Almost all their spells are concentration-based so you can cripple them if enemies have ways to break concentration.
Thanks! I’ll keep that all in mind, and maybe try thinking about it more like a tactics RPG videogame à la Fire Emblem, XCOM, or Mario+Rabbids with my enemy placement too. And for other casters I presume just hit em with physical/concentration breakers, and for Paladins I’ll figure somethin out lol.